Youth's volunteer efforts often big campaign boost

Oct. 6, 2012

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Gannett Wisconsin Media Investigative Team

Rocco Frievalt, president of the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh College Republicans, hands out campaign pamphlets on Tuesday to the students on the campus. Turnout among young voters could affect the outcome of November's presidential election. / Shu-Ling Zhou/Gannett Wisconsin Media

Wisconsin’s young voters

The number of Wisconsin registered voters age 18 to 24 often fluctuates: October 2008: 340,815 October 2010: 284,139 December 2010: 327,507 July 2011: 273,918 February 2012: 226,746 August 2012: 301,071 Source: Wisconsin Government Accountability Board

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As dozens of people rushed through the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus Thursday morning, 19-year-old Kyra Trybus tuned out the volunteers shouting “Register to vote!” just steps away.

Trybus said she’s not planning to register or cast a ballot in the November presidential election because she simply doesn’t feel informed enough.

“Politics aren’t something I pay attention to,” Trybus said, glancing at the line of people streaming toward Thursday’s campaign event for President Barack Obama. “I don’t feel like I know enough to vote.”

Trybus is among the 37 percent of young voters who don’t plan to vote this year, up from 28 percent at this point before the 2008 election, according to a September study from the Pew Research Center, a nonpartisan civic engagement group.

The shift is potentially damaging to Obama, who won the support of 66 percent of voters younger than 30 in 2008, continuing a trend for Democratic presidential candidates. But lack of engagement this year isn’t limited to young people inclined to back Obama, according to the Pew study; researchers found a similar drop among young supporters of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney.

Young voters may not swing the results of the election purely by voting, but Pew researchers in 2008 found that people between the ages of 18 and 29 act as “boots on the ground” for campaigns, filling essential roles such as registering voters, making calls about early voting deadlines and ensuring supporters make it to the polls in November.

Both major presidential campaigns are doing everything they can to reach voters between the ages of 18 and 29 — especially those on college campuses — with targeted speeches, ads and social media, and by using volunteers who sit beside those coveted young voters and potential volunteers in class each day. In a tight presidential race, voter turnout in a few key swing states, such as Wisconsin, Ohio and Florida, could mean the difference between winning and losing.

Feet on the street

Big rallies, like Obama’s Thursday event that drew an estimated 30,000 people to the center of the UW-Madison campus, have been the exception in Wisconsin this year. Romney and Obama volunteers said registering classmates, making calls and one-on-one conversations can be even more important to convincing young people to vote in November.

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In 2008, Jason Rae was a student at Marquette University in Milwaukee and president of the College Democrats of Wisconsin. This year, he’s chairman of the Democratic National Committee’s Youth Council. He said he doesn’t buy the argument that young voters are less invested in this year’s presidential election.

“I don’t like to base things on energy, enthusiasm or the number of events your College Democrats might have,” said Rae, 25. “It’s great to draw in some new people and get people excited. What’s really making a difference is these young people who have been out phone banking (and) knocking on doors.”

That’s a rare point of agreement for volunteers from both presidential camps in Wisconsin. Chelsea Shields, co-chair in Wisconsin of Young Americans for Romney and a student at Carthage College in Kenosha, said her focus is on recruiting new members and helping students learn how and where to vote.

“Last year (our group) had just a handful of active members,” said Shields, a junior at the college of about 3,000 students. “Now we have a membership of 100 and at least 40 active members. It feels like the momentum is with us.”

At the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, members of the College Republicans split time between talking to fellow students and campaigning for GOP candidates in the broader community. Andrew Erler, president of the College Republicans on campus, said he doesn’t so easily write off polling or research about depressed interest in the election among young voters.

“There’s a grain of truth,” said Erler, 24. “In the last cycle, so many youth went for President Obama and were really excited about him. They were hoping all these things would happen, and none of them have. Disappointment may make some students apathetic again.”

While college campuses are a recognizable focus for national and local campaigns, most political experts consider voters age 29 or younger as “young voters.” Campaigns have to cover a lot of ground to reach such a diverse group, from an 18-year-old starting college to a 24-year-old without college experience or a 29-year-old starting a family.

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Diverse group

Abby Kiesa, a youth coordinator and researcher at Tufts University’s Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, which studies young voter behavior, said college campuses are a convenient place to reach young voters but campaigns have to remember that college students make up only 24 percent of eligible voters younger than 30.

Her research found young people, especially those who aren’t on a traditional or technical college track, are less likely to vote — especially if they aren’t contacted about registering or informed about specific issues. In 2008, 60 percent of eligible college students nationwide turned out to vote compared to 51 percent of all under-30 voters, Kiesa said.

Leah Montesinos, a student at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee who attended an Obama rally at the Summerfest grounds last month, said she’s frustrated by how little her classmates seem engaged in the election. Montesinos, 20, was in high school in her hometown of Verona near the UW-Madison campus in 2008, and said the area was “buzzing” with young people talking about the election.

“That was really exciting to me going into college, and I get (here), and it seemed to totally die off,” Montesinos said. “Who people are voting for is a private decision, but the fact that some people don’t know anything about either party is just crazy.”

Andy Suchorski, 21, a senior at Marquette, said his experience doesn’t fit with a disengaged student narrative. He was in high school when Obama won the 2008 election. Now he’s chairman of the College Democrats of Wisconsin and devoted much of the school year to helping set up a College Democrats organization at every four-year University of Wisconsin campus.

“I’m not saying (students or young people) are all going to vote for Obama,” Suchorski said. “But I think student engagement is a lot higher than people give us credit for. I very much expect students to show up at the same levels.”

Kiesa said conversations between family or friends can be even more effective than campaign ads or volunteers making phone calls, regardless of political party. Tufts researchers asked young voters this summer what would make them go to the polls in November and found prodding from someone they already know was most likely to have an effect.

“One of the best things someone can do — a friend, parent, teacher — is to help young people find the registration information relevant to them,” Kiesa said.